Euronews

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul.

Moscow is a major ally of the Syrian government, while Ankara is backing rebels to bring down the Assad regime.

Both leaders spoke about the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Putin advised Turkey not to get too involved:

“Speaking about the Patriot systems it is not the best system in the world, but we do understand the concerns of Turkey with the events unfolding on their border with Syria and the feelings of the Turkish people. We call for moderation, but the creation of the potential for additional violence on the frontier does not help the situation, on the contrary it worsens it”

Erdogan wants a more rigorous diplomacy:

“Our biggest hope is that the ongoing conflict in Syria ends quickly and we see an end to the violence and bloodshed. Both our foreign ministers must work intensively and take steps in order to bring about a successful conclusion to the their mission.”

Despite differences on Syria, both countries have strong trade and energy links.

Turkey is Russia’s second largest gas consumer after Germany and is looking to up its consumption of Russian gas as temperatures plunge.